What's Not Said
by Kite kcc
Summary: Anotsu and Makie ... two years before "BOTI" Vol. 4: "Dreamsong"


What's Not Said

A Blade of the Immortal Fan Fiction

by: KCC

**Disclaimer: **

Rights to "Blade of the Immortal" and its characters belong to Hiroaki Samura and Dark Horse Comics Inc.

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Spoiler Warnings: 

This fanfic reveals events that occur after "Cry of the White Worm Part 2: Path of Blood" (Issue 11 of the manga series). The story would only make sense if you've read "Dreamsong" (Volume 3, trade paperback) or Issues 12 - 18 of the manga series.

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Prologue

"Teach me how to fight."

"Why?"

"I want to be good enough that I can kill 50 wild dogs like you did." He saw her flinch when he mentioned the dogs. He knew how badly that incident affected her because it had the same effect on him, too. It had been 2 years since that happened, the battle scars supposedly healed and yet the scars tore themselves open each night in the form of nightmares.

Silence and a pair of sad eyes greeted him. Always sadness -- sadness he could never seem to break through or understand.

"I need to be good enough so I can protect you."

She smiled then. "You know I don't need you to protect me, Kagehisa."

And then he reached out and pulled her to him. He held her tightly, as though to crush all the sadness out of her. 

"I want to protect you Makie, the way you protect me. Please."

She sighed and lifted her arms to hug him back. _He needs to be held like this, too._

They stayed that way -- locked in each other's arms. They were thirteen years old and they already knew too much of pain and grief and too little of love or comfort. They needed this. They needed each other.

"Please help me to protect you, Makie. I don't want to lose you. You are all that is precious to me. Please." He sobbed the last of his plea. He held her even closer then. 

"Alright." _Not only for my sake, but for yours as well. I won't always be around to protect you and I don't want to lose you either._ "You better go. It is almost dawn and your grandfather will be awake in a few hours."

At the mention of his grandfather, he stiffened -- an aching reminder that the solace he found with Makie was temporary.

"Yes, I must leave now, but, someday, Makie, you will be _mine_. I won't ever have to leave you and I would give my life to protect you."

****

Part 1

__

He looks familiar. Makie glanced at the young man who entered her room. _Where have I seen him before?_ She gave him a flirtatious smile and invited him to sit on her bed. _He's good-looking. I guess he's my birthday present from the other girls._

Makie Otono-Tachibana was 20 that day. Not that it mattered -- the brothel had a way of erasing one's age and memories and she had been in one far too long.

"What are you doing in a place like this, Makie Otono-Tachibana?" The young man asked her. His voice laced with anger and reproach. His hands fisted at his sides.

She gasped. _Oh my god, is it really him?_ "Kagehisa?" She stretched her hand out -- trying to see if the specter in front of her was real.

"What are you doing in a place like this?" He grabbed her outstretched hand, pulled her up so that she was standing and started shaking her. He released her and waited for an answer.

"Kagehisa? I --" _What could she say? What reason could she give him?_ She sat down, lowered her head and kept silent. She didn't want him to see her tears. Her shoulders sagged at the weight of the shame and disgrace.

"When I heard from my friends that there was a beautiful woman here and that she was ... and she called herself Makie Tachibana, I had to come and see for myself. I never thought ... I didn't expect --"

"I can explain. Please, sit down. Please." 

"Why, Makie? Why did you leave me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you then, but my mother --"

He didn't wait for her to finish her explanation. "I have come to free you. I have brought enough money with me to pay for you. Pack your things. We are leaving now."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Anotsu Kagehisa had come. He had come to free her. He had come to save her. She smiled, stood up and walked towards him. She stopped when she was just a breath away from him and then she embraced him. "My Kagehisa. Always there to save me from myself." She lifted her face -- a silent invitation. _Kiss me_. 

He kissed her then. He had been searching for her since she disappeared when they were 15. He had finally found her and everything he felt went into that kiss.

She broke away from the kiss and rested her cheek on his chest. She heard his heart beating in time with hers. They had always been so attuned to each other, ever since they were young.

"I have a place at the edge of town. You will stay there until we find you your own place and a decent job." He lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Come with me, Makie. I lost you all those years and now I've found you and I don't want you to ever leave my side again."

"But Kagehisa, I -- yes, I will leave with you now."

_What is she trying to hide from me?_ He wanted to ask her, but he was content to have her by his side. _This is enough... for now._

****

Part 2

They left together. Makie walked behind Kagehisa, carrying her meager belongings in a small sack. She couldn't help but notice the physical changes in him. _He is even more handsome now and his body ... has he been training?_ She smiled at the memories that thought brought back. She had been his first teacher -- his first real teacher. So unlike his grandfather who was driven insane by unfulfilled ambitions and trying to make his grandson just as mad. She had rescued him from that with her gentle instruction. She closed her eyes as she remembered all those midnight meetings. She broke from her reverie to realize that he had stopped walking and had been looking at her.

"What were you thinking of?"

"When we were younger... our sword training ...and adventures."

She expected him to smile then. Instead, she saw his brows furrow and heard him say, "Oh, that." He turned around and started walking again. "We better hurry."

His reaction surprised her, but she didn't mind too much. _He's here and that's all that matters_. They walked in silence the rest of the way.

Only when they reached his house did he turn around and speak to her. "We will have to share my room. It isn't very big, but it will do."

"I don't mind, Kagehisa. Thank you for this."

He nodded. He took her hand and led her to his room. "You can put your things in there." He said, pointing to a wooden box beside the door. "Let me prepare the bed."

"Anou -- let me. It is the least I can do."

"I have to leave. I will be back shortly. Will you be alright?"

"You know I can take care of myself. Please don't worry about me."

When he left, she turned to look around the room. _How long had he been living here? He doesn't have a lot of things._ She noticed a strange axe leaning against a sword in one corner of the room. _Kagehisa's sword_. She crawled towards it. She let her fingers glide through the sheath of the sword. She felt the inscription then. Slowly, she picked up the sword -- careful not to disturb the axe. "Redeemed by their blood." Her body shivered -- reacting to the words she had just read. _Whose blood?_ She returned the sword to its place and fixed the bed, but the words haunted her throughout her task. _Should I ask him?_ She shook her head, answering her own question.

She prepared just one bed. Blushing, she remembered the kiss they exchanged earlier that night. Breathless with anticipation, she got out of her kimono and waited for him.

When he arrived, he found her asleep on the bed. _The _ bed. The blanket had fallen away and revealed enough of her body for him to understand what she had been expecting to happen had she been awake when he arrived. Strangely, the thoughts that registered angered him. _Why?_ He wondered and he wanted to wake her and seek answers from her. _But she looks so peaceful. I have never seen her look this way before._ "So beautiful." He had spoken that last thought out loud, he realized. His breath caught in his throat. _Had he heard her?_ He looked at her sleeping form -- oblivious to all the tension he was feeling. 

He decided not to disturb her. He quietly walked towards the corner where his sword and axe were. He picked up his sword, sat and rested his head on the handle. He fell asleep that way. 

****

Part 3

He woke up the next morning to find eyes staring at him. _Still the same sad eyes -- so sad, so very sad. _

"O- Ohayo, Kagehisa."

"Makie --"  
"I was expecting you to share the bed last night. Had I known I would be the cause of such discomfort, I would have --"

"Why?"

"Why, what? Kagehisa?" She tilted her head slightly, not fully understanding what he was asking.

"Why did you want me to share your bed?"

"I thought that's what you wanted. Earlier that night, we ... I --" 

"I'm not like the others, Makie Otono-Tachibana. I would never do anything to dishonor you." With that, he stood and started for the door. When he passed her, he felt her grab at his robe.

"Wait. Please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that ... I wanted for you to... never mind. I'm sorry, Kagehisa." She murmured the last words and let go of his robe.

He couldn't seem to leave. No matter how hard he tried to command his body to leave, he was rooted there -- near her. _What is this effect she has on me?_ He knelt down so that their eyes could meet. 

"I'm not upset. The idea that you would think I would ... It angered me. That isn't what I expected of Makie Otono-Tachibana."

She flinched at the mention of her complete name. _The second time this morning_. She knew from experience that he only said her full name when she did something that he felt was disappointing. She never heard it that many times when they were younger. _Twice today and once last night... I must seem so pathetic to him now._ "I'm so pathetic."

"Don't say that! How dare you?!?" 

She flinched as he shouted the words at her.

"Makie, Otono-Tachibana, don't you ever say --"

She did the only thing she knew would silence him. She kissed him -- fully on the lips, and she kept him locked to her with her arms around his neck. She could feel him first surrendering to the kiss and then struggling to break free from it.

He broke away. "What did you do _that_ for?" He said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

His reaction irritated her. "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it." She remembered her state of undress and slowly pulled at the sleeve of her kimono to reveal even more of her body. She saw him tense and heard him swallow. "I know I'm good at what I do. That's probably what your friends told you about me." She allowed the rest of her clothes to fall from her shoulders. She was naked now. "Come now, Kagehisa. Don't pretend you don't _want_ me." She knew she was taunting him -- deep inside, she felt herself crumble as she spoke the words. _Why am I doing this? Why am I hurting both of us this way?_

"You are not a whore, Makie Otono-Tachibana. You are a great swordswoman. You are not a whore."

"Oh, but I am. Didn't you notice the place where you found me? Or do you want me to prove it to you?"

He reached over to touched her hair and tentatively let his fingers glide through until he was touching her shoulders. She shivered slightly -- feeling the electricity that passed through them at the contact of his fingers with her skin. His hand explored the smooth skin of her shoulders, then her arms and finally, it rested on her waist. He took hold of her clothes and pulled it up to cover her.

"Get dressed and come outside." Then he stood up, went to the corner and took the axe and sword before leaving the room.

Only when she was sure that he was too far away to hear her did she let the tears fall. _What am I doing? Am I really the whore I claim I am?_

Outside, Anotsu Kagehisa paced around the small courtyard -- trying to walk the anger and hurt he felt. _What am I doing?_ And then he stopped pacing -- remembering what he had decided to do years ago. _I must kill them all and Makie will help me._ With that resolved, he started to train -- swinging the axe slowly at first and then faster until the movements took control of him.

She saw him then -- a blur of movement, the sound of the axe mesmerizing. _He has gotten better and has added variations to his technique._ She was awed by the show in front of her-- his graceful movements concealing his true strength and skill.

He felt her presence long before, but decided not to stop until he was sure he could face her. He let out a cleansing breath -- willing his heart to slow down. He stopped a few minutes later, resting the axe on his shoulder. "Well?"

His voice jolted her back to reality. "What?" 

"What do you think? Am I better now?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you were ... are my teacher."

"I haven't held a sword in years, Kagehisa. I doubt if I am still qualified. I am nothing more than a whore now."

"You have changed. When have you become such a coward, Makie Otono-Tachibana?"

"Do you truly think this is cowardice? I have no choice but --"

"But I am giving you one. Take up the sword and fight with me, Makie. I need you beside me."

_Fight whom?_ "Fight? I don't think I understand what this is all about."

"Years ago, after you left, I decided that I would purify Japan of the pretenders."

"Pretenders?"

"The samurai schools. They are nothing more than pretenders who hide behind their so-called honor and technique. They know nothing of true fighting skill. I will rid Japan of them."

"And then what?"

But he didn't hear her. He was too captivated with his dreams to hear her. "Japan needs true swordsmen -- not samurais with their absurd bushido and their dojo. Tonight is the purification of the Mutenichi-Ryu."

She gasped at the mention of the school. _The school that dismissed his grandfather?_ "Oh my God." She whispered to herself. _Had his grandfather succeeded?_ She saw the madness in his eyes. _What am I going to do?_

"Will you help me, Makie? Will you fight beside me?"

"Why are you asking this of me? Please don't."

"Why not? You are one of the best and the only one who can defeat me. I need you."

_I need you, too. But not in that way._ "No, not like this. This is madness. No." She backed away from him -- wanting to get away from what seemed to her a nightmare. _This is not the Anotsu Kagehisa that I know._ "This isn't real."

"You have no idea how _real_ this is. I have gathered many who believe in the same thing I do and are willing to fight to the death to achieve my dreams -- to achieve the dreams of the Itto-Ryu."

"You don't need to do this, Kagehisa."

"I do and so do you. Their blood will redeem us. Or have you forgotten about your mother and your own circumstance and what brought you there in the first place? I haven't. I am doing this for both our sakes."

"I never asked for this. I don't want this."

"Very well, you leave me with no choice." He took hold of her arm and pulled her so she was facing him. "Makie Otono- Tachibana, I freed you from the brothel. By pledge of honor, you are now bound to me and the Itto-Ryu."

She jerked her hand away. "Kagehisa, don't do this to me."

"You will take up your sword and become part of the Itto-Ryu. You will fight beside me."

She could hear the determination in his voice, but also -- _desperation? Is he so afraid to lose me again?_ She looked into his eyes and saw the emotions battle within him. She felt the same battle within her. "Anotsu Kagehisa, if you want me to stay because you love me and want me, then say so." 

Her statement caught him off-guard. _Love? What is she talking about?_ He looked at her eyes and found sadness there and -- _love_? "Do you love me, Makie?"

"You know I do. Now, I want to know if you want me for the same reason I want you."

"Regardless of my answer, you are bound to me and you will take up your sword." 

"Very well. I will become part of the Itto-Ryu. But know this, Kagehisa: I may be bound to the Itto-Ryu, but I am not bound to you."

"You are. You just don't want to admit it."

_He's right_. "I want to use my pike."

"I had one made for you. It is inside the room."

She nodded -- afraid to say anything, unsure how her voice would come out.

"We go to the Mutenichi-Ryu tonight. I trust you will be ready for that." 

She was startled when he walked towards her and cupped her face in his hands. "You are my woman, Makie Otono- Tachibana. I didn't need that 'pledge of honor' to bind you to me. Our pact was made a _long_ time ago." Then he walked away, leaving her alone in the courtyard.

"Tonight." She whispered the word into the emptiness around her and within her. She shook her head -- as though to erase her foolish thoughts. _How foolish I was. I thought he came for me because he loved me._ She felt so empty -- her heart broken moments ago by his words.

****

Part 4

Note: Some of the dialogue here was taken from Blade of the Immortal "On Silent Wings II" These lines are indicated by an asterisk.

_So much blood._ "What have I done?" She let the pike drop to the ground. As though in a trance, she started walking towards the gate of the dojo. _Why did he make me do this?_

He had accomplished what he set out to do: Asano Kurose of the Mutenichi-Ryu was dead. All that was left of the name was his wife and daughter. He took one last look at the dead man at his feet and the man's wife crying hysterically.

"Leaving, sir?"*

He nodded at his companion. _My work here is done. Now I have to go see to another task._ "I want everyone back in an hour. The rest is up to you."* 

Outside, the warm breeze and the calm of night were a stark contrast to the bloody sight that surrounded him. He saw the pike on the ground. _Why am I not surprised_? He quickened his pace. _She couldn't have gotten far_.

She hadn't gotten far at all. She rested against a tree a few yards away. She needed to think about what she was going to do. She felt his presence before she even heard him. Without turning around to face him, she said, "I have done what you needed me to do. You don't need me anymore."

The footsteps got closer and closer.

"Don't!" She turned around.

He stopped a few feet away from her. "If you leave, I will find you again. I won't stop until I do."

"I know you will, Kagehisa. I'm counting on it."

She gave him a slight smile -- almost bittersweet.

"You smile, but your eyes tell another story."

"What might that be?"

"Sadness. Always sadness. Sadness that I can never seem to break through or understand."

"Maybe one day you will." She started walking away. "I waited to say goodbye this time." The last of her words sounded like a murmur as she walked farther and farther away from him.

_Don't leave_. He wanted to run after her. _Stay with me_. He wanted to shout those words at her. "Makie Otono- Tachibana, you are mine. By pledge of honor, you are mine."

He wasn't sure if she heard him. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to hear. He looked at her figure slowly disappearing. Then the tears came. 

- End -

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Author's Notes:

  1. I decided that Makie and Anotsu were the same age. Makie just seems older (how Anotsu describes her in "Dreamsong" because she has suffered much in her young life. Difficulties like hers have a way of "aging" a person.
  2. I don't know the technical name for Anotsu's "strange axe" or Makie's pike. Rin referred to Anotsu's weapon as a strange axe in "On Silent Wings" and Manji referred to Makie's weapon as a pike in "Dreamsong".
  3. I've only read up to volume 6 of the trade paperback ("Dark Shadows") or the equivalent to Issue 34 of the comic book series.
  4. On the use of contractions: The Dark Horse version of BOTI uses contractions. I did try my best to use words that didn't sound too modern. 


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